tcnu 


Duke  University  Libraries 

A  Kind  word  to 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #677 

DTTDt,0flS3/ 


No.  96. 

A  KIND  WORD 

TO    THE 

OFFICERS  OF  OUR  ARMY. 


How  should  this  war  be  conducted  so  as  to  bring  it 
to  a  speedy  and  prosperous  termination  ?  Our  object  is 
to  achieve  our  political  and  commercial  independence 
of  the  North  and  to  win  our  just  rights,  and  the  sooner 
we  can  accomplish  this  the  better. 

The  war,  then,  should  be  prosecuted  with  vigor  and 
determination.  We  should  strike  the  enemy  whenever 
and  wherever  we  can  reach  him,  inflict  heavy  blows 
when  we  are  able  to  do  so,  and  slight  ones  when  we 
cannot  inflict  heavy.  We  must  annoy  him  on  the 
march,  cut  off  his  supplies,  break  up  his  lines  of  com- 
munication, and  harass  his  outposts.  Our  men  have 
proved  themselves  to  be  brave,  active,  and  cheerful  in 
the  field;  let  our  commanding  officers  appreciate  these 
noble  qualities  and  take  advantage  of  them.  It  is 
chiefly  behind  entrenchments  that  our  troops  become 
dispirited  and  indifferent,  and  it  is  in  the  same  condi- 
tion that  they  waste  most  rapidly  by  disease  and  death. 
Put  our  men  into  steady,  active  service,  and  they  will 
march  ten  miles  a  day  and  fight  five  days  in  a  week,  and 
improve  on  the  regimen. 


2  A   KIND   WORD  TO  THE   OFFICKRS  OF  OUR   ARMY. 

But  while  we,  by  every  means  in  our  power,  destroy 
the  resources  of  our  enemy,  we  must  husband  our  own. 
No  stores,  ammunition,  or  ordnance  should  be  destroyed, 
except  as  a  last  necessity.  And  especially  should  our 
officers  be  very  careful  of  their  men,  not  only  on  the 
march  and  in  the  encampment,  to  shield  them  from  un- 
necessary exposure,  but  in  battle  to  lead  them  into  no 
profitless  peril,  and  so  to  shelter  and  protect  them  in 
making  an  attack  as  to  save  them  from  needless  harm. 
A  great  deal  depends  right  here  upon  the  commanding 
officer.  Some  leaders  will  carry  a  breastwork  or  a  bat- 
tery with  much  less  loss  of  followers  than  others.  Both 
leaders  may  have  courage,  but  one  lacks  discretion. 

And  here  I  would  make  a  suggestion.  Cannot  some- 
thing be  done  to  lessen  the  unnatural  distance  that  is 
gradually  and  rapidly  creeping  in  between  officers  and 
men  ?  I  say  unnatural  because  it  was  not  so  at  first, 
but  appears  to  be  the  result  of  systematic  effort  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  officers.  There  must  necessarily 
be  a  deference  paid  by  the  men  to  rank  in  the  persons 
of  their  officers,  but  that  does  not  excuse,  but  pointedly 
condemns,  rudeness  upon  the  part  of  the  latter.  If  the 
men  treat  them  with  the  respect  due  their  position,  they 
are  bound,  and  cannot  escape  the  obligation,  to  treat  the 
soldiers  with  the  respect  due  them.  And  this'  evil  is 
becoming  more  and  more  prevalent;  and  I  speak  what 
I  know  when  I  assert  that  it  is  driving-  many  of  our  best 
men,  who  are  lawfully  exempts,  from  the  service.  They 
will  not  tolerate  such  treatment  from  men,  some  of 
whom  are  not  socially  their  equals,  and  whom  they 
probably  assisted  to  raise  to  an  undeserved  elevation. 

And,  again,  it  would  not  cost  the  officer  much  ;  on  the 
contrary,  he  would  gain  much,  by  manifesting  some 
attention  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  his  men.     When 


A   KIND   WORD   TO  THE   OFFICERS  OF  OUR  ARMY.  3 

they  are  sick,  let  him  see  to  it  that  they  have  suitable 
surgical  attention  ;  when  any  of  them  are  sent  to  the 
hospital,  let  him  see  to  it  that  they  are  properly  provided 
with  transportation,  food,  and  water.  The  privates  in 
an  army  do  not  have,  at  best,  many  luxuries  or  enjoy- 
ments; do  not,  by  harsh  treatment,  make  their  condi- 
tion unnecessarily  hard.  I  believe  that  this  one  tiling — 
indifference  of  the  officers  to  their  men  when  sick — is  doing 
more  to  thin  our  ranks  than  all  other  causes  combined. 
The  men  feel  that  they  are  not  cared  for,  that  they  are 
treated  (to  use  their  own  expression)  like  dogs,  and  they 
lose  their  interest  in  the  cause  itself.  They  would  have 
to  possess  much  more  than  common  patriotism  to  re- 
main in  an  army  where  they  not  only  do  not^frfret  wTith 
sympathy,  but  where  they  do  meet  with  constant  con- 
tempt and  abuse.  After  all,  the  men  are  the  true  source 
of  rank  and  of  power,  and  woe  to  such  officers  as  I 
have  described,  when  the  day  of  reckoning  arrives. 

But  officers  may  inflict  injury  on  their  soldiers  not 
merely  by  reckless  exposure  of  iheir  lives  in  battle,  and 
in  camp  duty — they  may  become  the  source  and  foun- 
tain of  spiritual  and  everlasting  misery,  and  be  them- 
selves held  accountable  to  God  for  the  iniquity  which 
provokes  his  wrath  against  them. 

"One  sinner  destroyeth  much  good."  So  says  the 
inspired  Word,  and  there  is  no  doubt  of  its  truth.  Nay, 
more  than  this  is  true:  not  only  does  uone  sinner  de- 
stroy much  good,"  but  he  builds  up  a  great  deal  of 
positive  evil,  and  will,  therefore,  cause  a  great  deal  of 
positive  misery,  both  in  time  and  in  eternity.  uNone  of 
us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself."  If 
you  will  read  the  sixth  and  seventh  chapters  of  Joshua, 
you  will  see  that  when  God  had  begun  to  drive  out 
the  wicked  from  the  land  of  Canaan,  according  to  the 


4  A  KIND   WORD  TO  THE  OFFICERS  OF  OUR   ARMY. 

promises  which  He  had  before  made  to  the  fathers  of 
Israel,  the  wicked  City  of  Jerico  was  to  be  "accursed 
(or  devoted)  to  the  Lord."  All  of  its  inhabitants  were 
to  be  slain,  because  of  their  wickedness;  all  the  silver, 
gold,  brass,  and  iron  were  to  go  into  the  treasury  of  the 
Lord,  as  consecrated  to  Him.  The  Israelites  were  for- 
bidden to  take  any  of  these  things  to  themselves,  lest 
they  should  make  themselves  accursed.  Achan,  the  son 
of  Carmi,  however,  could  not  withstand  the  temptation: 
when  lie  saw  a  goodly  Babylonish  garment,  two  hun- 
dred shekels  of  silver,  and  a  wedge  of  gold  of  fifty 
shekels  weight,  he  coveted  them,  took  them.  Imme- 
diately thereafter,  Joshua  sent  men  to  Ai  to  view  the 
country.  These  returned,  saying  that  the  people  of  Ai 
were  but  few,  and  that  three  thousand  Israelites  were 
enough  to  take  the  place  —  and  this  number  was  sent 
forward  by  Joshua  for  that  pu.rpose.  But  these,  the 
chosen  people  of  God,  were  not  successful;  they  were 
smitten  by  the  few  people  of  Ai,  chased  from  before 
their  gate,  and  smitten  as  they  went.  When  Joshua 
mourned  over  this  event  before  the  Lord,  the  reply  was, 
not  that  "Achan  had  sinned,"  but  "Israel  hath  sinned, 
and  they  have  also  transgressed  my  covenant."  ^There- 
fore the  children  of  Israel  could  not  stand  before  their 
enemies,  but  turned  their  backs  before  their  enemies, 
because  they  were  accursed." 

Thus  we  see  how  the  evil  of  one  falls  upon  the 
whole;  and  it  is  so  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  The 
drunkenness  of  the  father  affects  his  family;  the  wick- 
edness of  the  ruler  affects  his  people;  that  of  the  officer 
affects  his  men.  The  character  and  standing  of  a  regi- 
ment or  company  will  soon  grow  to  be  like  that  of  its 
commanders.  Suppose,  for  example,  the  officers  of  "the 
field  and  staff"  are  men  given  to  profaneness,  vulgarity, 


A  KIND   WORD  TO  THE   OFFICERS  OF  OUR   ARMY.  D 

or  drunkenness.  As  they  sit  about  their  tents  or  around 
their  camp  fires,  all  these  are  indulged  in.  The  officers 
from  the  companies  will  come  up,  take  their  seats,  and 
enter  into  the  amusements  and  conversation  of  the  cir- 
cle. After  a  little  while,  they  will  get  up  and  go  hack  to 
their  companies  ;  there  they  will  find  the  men  sitting 
about  in  groups,  the  thoughts,  feelings,  and  conversation 
in  which  they  have  just  participated  being  uppermost, 
will  be  repeated;  the  men  will  be  drawn  into  the 
same  channel,  and  thus  the  influence  of  the  officers, 
an  influence  for  evil,  will  pour  down  like  a  stream  um 
til  the  whole  regiment  will  be  deluged  by  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  let  us  suppose  the  character  of  the 
officers  to  be  different.  I  have  heard  of  one  captain  in 
our  army,  who  has  held  prayer  with  his  company  regu- 
larly, every  night,  and  of  whose  whole  character  it  was 
said  that  fact  might  be  taken  as  a  specimen.  Let  us 
suppose  the  character  of  the  officers  of  a  regiment  to 
be  like  his;  let  their  usual  conversations  be  strictly 
moral  and  pure  ;  let  them  speak  frequently  and  rever- 
ently of  their  entire  dependence  upon  the  favor  of  God 
for  a  blessing  ;  for  themselves  let  them  earnestly  seek 
that  favor,  and  teach  those  who  are  around  them  to  do 
the  same;  and  who  does  not  see  that  their  influence  for 
good  will  be  to  an  extent  wholly  beyond  measure  ?  for 
in  the  manner  above  mentioned,  the  character  of  the 
regiment  will  be  made  like  that  of  its  officers.  Every 
man  who  has  been  in  the  army  knows  these  things  to 
be  true. 

Gentlemen,  officers  in  the  army,  you  now  see  what 
you  may  do,  what  you  must  do,  for  good  or  for  evil. 
And  you  are  now  asked  to  consider  two  thoughts,  which 
show  that  you  are  under  the  most  solemn  obligations  to 
exert  your  influence  for  good. 


6  A    KIND   WORD  TO  THE  OFFICERS  OF  OUR  ARMY. 

1.  Your  duty  to  your  country,  your  patriotism,  requires  it. 
You  have  probably  entered  the  army  at  a  great  person- 
al sacrifice,  you  are  ready  to  lay  down  your  life  for  your 
country;  you  call  yourself  a  patriot,  and  you  are.  But 
true  patriotism,  the  real  good  of  your  country,  requires 
more  of  you  than  that  you  shall  be  willing  to  die  in  or- 
der to  deliver  it  from  the  tyranny  of  man.  What  will 
your  country's  independence  be  worth  if,  when  that 
independence  shall  have  been  established,  several  hun- 
dred thousand  demoralized,  vitiated  men,  are  turned 
loose  upon  it,  as  its  citizens,  its  voters?  Will  they  be 
capable  of  self  government?  Will  not  the  society,  the 
character  of  that  country,  be  of  a  most  deplorable  and 
degraded  kind  ?  Will  you  not  have  purchased  the  de- 
liverance of.  your  country  from  the  yoke  of  Northern 
despotism  at  the  cost  of  visiting  upon  it  the  galling 
yoke  of  Satan  ?  Will  you  not  have  bought  for  it  one 
sort  of  freedom,  whilst  at  the  same  time  you  have  been 
helping  to  bring  it  under  another  sort  of  slavery — the 
most  fearful  and  appalling  slavery  that  ever  has  existed, 
or  ever  will  exist,  in  all  the  universe  of  God — a  slavery 
the  full  effects  and  misery  of  which  can  "only  be  realized 
in  hell — the  slavery  of  sin?  You  will.  Then  answer 
this  one  question,  in  point  of  moral  and  religious  char- 
acter :  WThat  does  your  love  of  country  require  of  you  ? 

2.  You  must  meet  the  men  of  your  command  at  the 
judgment  bar  of  God,  and  at  that  bar  of  you  "  unto 
whom  much  was  given  much  will  be  required."  Thou- 
sands of  the  young  men,  we  may  say  the  boys,  of  this 
country,  have  been  sent  forth  by  sorrowing  sisters,  anx- 
ious parents,  widowed  mothers,  and  largely  committed 
to  your  care.  There  may  be  among  those  young  men 
many  whose  names,  or  even  faces,  you  do  not  know,  and 
yet  you  are  exerting  over  them  an  influence  for  evil  or 


A   KIND   WORD  TO  THE   OFFICERS  OF  OUR  ARMY.  7 

for  good.  If  that  influence  be  for  evil,  then  you  are  not 
only  training  up  a  set  of  bad  citizens  for  your  country, 
but  you  are  training  them  to  be  the  inmates  of  hell  ! 
You  are  not  only  fixing  upon  them,  for  evil,  a  mark 
which  cannot  be  erased  in  time,  but  a  mark  which  will 
be  indelible  in  that  eternity  into  which  so  many  of  them 
w'ill^soon  have  to  pass  ! 

Gentlemen,  officers  in  our  army,  in  the  name  of  those 
sorrowing  sisters,  those  anxious  parents,  those  widowed 
mothers,  in  the  name  of  our  common  country,  which  we 
all  so  much  love,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  God  of  hea- 
ven and  of  earth,  we  ask  you,  what  are  you  doing? 


Mercy  and  judgment  are  my  song ; 
And  since  they  both  to  thee  belong, 
My  gracious  God,  my  righteous  King, 
To  thee  my  songs  and  vows  I  bring. 

When  I  am  raised  to  bear  the  sword, 
I  '11  take  my  counsel  from  thy  word ; 
Thy  justice  and  thy  heavenly  grace 
Shall  be  the  pattern  of  my  ways. 

Let  wisdom  all  my  actions  guide, 
And  let  my  God  with  me  reside  : 
No  wicked  thing  shall  dwell  with  me, 
Which  may  provoke  «thy  jealousy. 

I  '11  search  the  land,  and  raise  the  just 
To  posts  of  honor,  wealth  and  trust: 
The  men  that  work  thy  holy  will, 
Shall  be  my  friends  and  favorites  still. 

In  vain  shall  sinners  hope  to  rise 
By  flattering  or  malicious  lies ; 
Nor,  while  the  innocent  I  guard, 
Shall  bold  offenders  e'er  be  spared. 


PUBLISHED    BY    THE    SOUTH    CAROLINA    TRACT    SOCIETY. 

Printed  by  Evans  &  Cogswell,  No.  3  Broad  street,  Charleston,  S.  C. 


LIST  OF   TRACTS 

PUBLISHED  I!  THE  SOUTH  CAROLINA  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


No.  of  Number 

Tract.  of  pages 

I...A11)  I  Self-Deceived 4 

2... Hive  yon  :'  12 

S...The  Sinners  Friend 20 

4. ..The  Act  Of  Faith 4 

5. ..What  is  it  to  Believe  on  Christ  ?..  4 
6...  Dialogue  between  the  Bible  and  a 

Sinner 4 

7... Self-Dedication  to  God 4 

8... Why  (1,.  we  Sit  Still? 4 

0...  Ye  shall  not  Surely  Die 4 

10...  A  Convenient  Season 4 

11. ..The  Bibie  the  Word  of  God 4 

1 -J. ..Three  Words  4 

la...  A  Word  of  Warning 4 

14. ..Grieving  the  Spirit  "f  God 4 

15...  Hinder  Me  Not 4 

18.. .The  Soldier's  Pocket  Bible 10 

17... I  Don't  Like  Professions 4 

18. ..The  Bible  in  my  Trunk 4 

19. ..How  to  Dispose  of  Care 4 

2'). ..The  Way  of  Peace S 

21. ..Quench  Not  the  spirit  4 

22...  Fatal  Delusions 4 

2a. ..The  Sword  of  the  Spirit 4 

24...  Procrastination  4 

25. ..The  Missionary's  Nephew 4 

26... Lost  Convictions 4 

27... Profane  Swearing 4 

28. ..Obstacles  toC  inversion 4 

29...The  Spirit  Grieved 4 

30. ..Counsel  to  the  Convicted 4 

31... Every  .Man  the  Friend  or  the  En- 
emy of  Christ 4 

32. ..The  Soldier's  Victory 8 

33. ..The  Wrath  to  Come 4 

34... What  Are  Von  Fit  For?  S 

35. ..  Christ  a  Cover!  from  the  Tempest  8 

30. ..The  Christian  Traveller 8 

87. ..Napoleon's  Argument  for  the  Di- 
vinity of  Christ  and  the  Scrip- 
tures   8 

38... 1  Can't  Make  Myself  Different 8 

39. ..The  Sinner  his  own  Destrover 8 

40. ..The  infidel's  Creed .* 8 

41. ..Alarm  to  the  Careless 8 

42. ..True  Conversion S 

43.. .The  Christian  Officer $ 

44... Our    War.    Our    Cause,    and    Our 

Duty    18 

45. ..The Crimean  Hero:  the  late  Capt. 

Vicars 12 

40. ..The  Muffled  Drum 8 

47. ..How  Do  You  Bear  Your  Trials?...  8 
48... How  Lou-  Have  You  Been  Sick?..12 
49... Soldier!  Do  you  Believe  the  Bible  4 

50...i'he  Long  Koll 4 

51... Mortally  Wounded 8 

52. ..The  Sailor  Lost  and  Found 8 

53. ..Captain  Deverell;  or,  from  Dark- 
ness to   Light 12 

54. ..A  Word  from  the  Ladies  of  the 
Soldiers'  Relief  Association  of 
Charleston  to  the  Soldier 4 


!fo.  of  Number 

Tract.  of  pag^i 

55. ..Colonel  Gardiner — as  a  Man.  a 

Christian,  and  a  Sol  liflr 21 

5«. ..The  Railway  Guide 16 

57. ..The  Confederate  Hero,  and    his 

Patriotic  Father 16 

5S...The  Sailor's  Home 8 

59...  Kind  Words  to  a  Wouuded  Sol- 
dier    s 

60. ..The  Eventful  Twelve  Hours;  or, 
The  Destitution  and  Wretch- 
edness of  the  Drunkard 16 

01. ..The  Dying  Robber S 

62...  I  )q  You  Fray  in  Secret?  4 

03... Do  You  Fnjoy  Religion? 4 

04... I  've  Never  Thought  Of  Dyiug  So  4 

65... Why  .-it  Ye  Hero  Idle? 4 

66... Come  and  Welcome 12 

67 ...The  Silly  Fish 4 

68... Why  ret  Impeuitent? 4 

69... Who  Slew  All  These? 4 

70. ..The  Navy  Surgeon.., 12 

71...  A  True  Story  of  Lucknow S 

72. ..The  Sailor  and  the  Soldier 8 

73... Are  Yon  Not  Afraid   t,.  Die? 4 

74. ..The  Wonderful   Escape 4 

75. ..The  Two  Soldiers 4 

70...  Where  Are  You  Going? 6 

77. ..The  Young  Officer's  Start  in  Life.  8 

78... chew  Me  Myself _ 

79. ..Divine  Grace   Illustrated 4 

NO. ..The  Christian  Soldier 8 

81  ...  Mustered  info  Service 8 

82... Lieutenant  It.;    or,   The  Tract 

Read  in  the  Theatre S 

S3... Do    Thyself  No   Marin 4 

84... Appeal  to  the  Youth,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  Soldiers  of  the 

Confederate  states 16 

85...  Very  Short  and  Very  Long,  and 
ihe  si ric t  Search 8 

86. ..The  Fatal  Mi-take;  or,  The  Mid- 

«  night  Shipwreck 4 

87. ..The   Day  of  Trial 4 

vs..  My  Time  is  But  a  Day 4 

89. ..The  Substance  of  the  Gospel 4 

0)... Noah's  Carpenters 4 

91  ...Come  and  Rest 4 

92... .A  Patriotic  Sermon 4 

93. ..Discharged — I  am  Going  Homo..  4 
94... Anecdotes  for  the  Soldiers,  No.  1..24 
95...  anecdotes  for  the  Soldiers,  No.  2.  .24 
96...A  Kind  Word  to  the  Officers  of 

our  Army 4 

97. ..Soldiers  iu    Hospital;    or,  Come 

to  Christ 4 

98. ..The  Old  Soldier 4 

99...  A  Letter  to  a  Son  in  Camp 4 

100. ..The    Colonel's    Conversion  —  A 
Chief  of  Sinners  made  a  Chief 

of  Saints  24 

101. ..The  Muster 4 

102...The  Guard-House 4 

103...  An  App«al  to  Young  Soldiers 8 


Hollinger  Corp. 
PH8.5 


